Armageddon
by Hazel Roses
Summary: Sakura was on her own, trying her hardest to avoid being eaten alive by the dead reanimated bodies of her townspeople. Ebola was a joke of a virus. They tried to eradicate it and accidentally made more fatal. When she met Sasuke and his group, her only goal was to stay alive, but when things hit the fan, she had to save him too. How could she fall for someone at a time like this?


_This was the main prompt that stuck out to me the most. I've never done apocalypse before and thought it would be fun to try my hand at something other than Sakura x Sasuke smut lol. There will be some lime stuff, but no actual lemon._

 _Rated M for blood/gore, language, adult sexual themes_

 _Day 30: Apocalypse_

* * *

 **Day Ten of Infection: The Beginning**

* * *

Sakura's lungs burned painfully in her chest, and her legs felt like they were going to give way. How long had she been running? Just a block or maybe a couple of miles? The muscles in her legs had no strength left in them, but she forced them to move, tears streaming down her face at the realization that if she slowed her pace, even for a second, she'd be dead. Ripped to shreds in the most brutal way possible like she'd seen happen to her friends and her loved ones. She tore through the woods, vines reaching out to scratch angrily at her legs. They were behind her…closing in. If she didn't find shelter soon…

Her breath came in fast shallow gasps as the wood cleared and what looked like an abandoned building emerged in front of her. There was a huge fence around it, the top covered in barbed wire. Without a second thought, she pushed strength into her legs by willpower alone and flung herself against the fence when she reached it, scrambling up as fast as she could. She wasn't fast enough and looked down in horror at one of the disgustingly disfigured creatures staring back at her. Its face was half gone, no right eye in the socket. Just a bloody hole where they eye used to be stared back at her. Blood stained its mouth and it made growling and unintelligible noises at her, the ability to speak long gone.

A shriek emitted from her throat; She hated herself for it, knowing it would bring more of the soulless creatures to her, but she couldn't help it. Fear had her wrapped tightly in its grasp. She kicked violently. Others tore at what was left of her lab coat. Managing to free herself, Sakura nearly ran up and over the fence, the barbed wire cutting the insides of her thighs as she did. Sharp stinging pain accompanied as she threw herself to the ground on the side of safety. She landed on her hip, searing pain from her abrupt stop radiating down to her leg. Now was no time to worry about pain; she had to get away. Out of their sight, but she knew that wasn't enough to be safe.

The large building looked uninviting. The windows were busted out. Blackness was all she could see through them. As the fence shook behind her, the undead angry that their meal had gotten away, Sakura slowly crept towards the huge double doors, green eyes shifting around for anything she could use as a weapon. A tire iron sat forgotten a few feet from her, and she picked it up gratefully. There was no telling if there were more of the infected lurking in that building.

Sakura adjusted the small pack she had on her back before taking another step forward, making sure to avoid anything that would make noise. Her feet were silent. Slow steps not making a sound, but her pulse beating so hard it felt like it would give her away. She realized the right side of the double door was partially ajar. Reaching out a shaky hand while the other held her weapon high, Sakura pulled it open, wincing as the door creaked loudly open. Sakura was realizing this was a bad idea. This place was probably crawling with the infected, but if she could kill them all, she could make this into a temporary place of hiding until she could find something smaller, like a house or something.

It was dimly lit inside, but she didn't need to see well. She heard them before she saw them. Tiredly, she held her fighting stance, counting six of them wandering on the warehouse floor. The disgusting growls and retching cries echoed around her as they realized the new food source. Sakura didn't wait for them to attack her first. That's how people died.

She bashed each one of their skulls in. Blood and brain matter splattering all over her clothes and her cheek. The first time Sakura had to do this, she was absolutely disgusted and afraid of being infected. This virus spread best through body fluids, but it mainly spread through skin to skin contact with someone who had Super Ebola. It was that potent. Luckily, she hadn't gotten any in her eyes or mouth, but that scare was still there. She'd have to find a way to kill them without close combat. She had goggles on just for that reason, but after killing so many, she was going to have to take them off to avoid them obscuring her vision.

Panting heavily, Sakura stepped over the motionless bodies and cautiously explored her surroundings. She killed seventeen more on her task of clearing out the abandoned warehouse. After doing a bit of searching, she found a break room that still had food in the fridge. There was some left-over sushi that would be just enough to fill her up. The next thing was to find a shower. The stench of blood followed her every step. Guts splattered her white lab coat and for the hundredth time that day, she cried.

This was all because of the Ebola virus. It was incurable, and even though there had been some worries raised in other nations, only one or two cases were in Konoha. The second case being the fault of the nurse who was taking care of an Ebola patient and didn't properly remove her personal protective equipment. In the process of taking it off, she infected herself. That was okay; she was simply quarantined and tended to properly. In less fortunate areas where medical care and personal hygiene weren't as precise, new cases began to arise until the world had to take notice. The Konoha medical team was sent over immediately to help assist with the virus. Sakura had been a part of the medical team and also assisted their Science Division with trying to come up with a cure and a cure they did find. Not only that, but a vaccine as well. It was after that everything went to hell.

After almost a year of research and development, their first test subjects were giving the new medication. They had high fevers, and many of them constantly moaned in agony from the severe headaches and muscle pain. Many complained of their stomachs cramping terribly. Some threw up, others had blood running from their orifices, and others were too tired to even open their eyes. Sakura remembered the glimmer of hope in their gazes from behind her mask as they gave the first ten test subjects the antibiotic. They waited, the clock echoing and reminding them that time was a factor.

After a couple of hours, the first person given the antibiotics fever dropped. Another told them their muscle pain was subsiding and the other their headache was starting to feel slightly better. They were given the second dose six hours after the first and their conditions seemingly improved just a hare. At the end of five days on antibiotics, each one of their patients was deemed healthy and no longer contagious. All of their symptoms vanished. Sakura had never received so many hugs and kisses in her life.

The next step now that there was a cure was to create a vaccine. The goal was to be able to give it to all age ranges, similar to the flu vaccine, only reducing the amount for small children. During the time it took to make it, hundreds of people were saved from the monster virus and the amount of cases appearing in other lands started to subside. The vaccine was incubated in eggs, just like the flu shot and a trial run was given to patients. These people were healthy and volunteered for quite a substantial amount of money each to be exposed to someone with Ebola in order to test its potency.

Five hundred people total were test subjects to the Ebola vaccine and were exposed in ratio of twenty healthy to two sick. The trial was for a total of six months. By month three, they were starting to believe they'd done it. Only a little over 10% contracted Ebola. It was proving more effective than the flu shot and had mild complications like low-grade fever and fatigue. Two patients did have an allergic reaction to it; one just had hives while the other started to go into anaphylactic shock where he had to be intubated and given two Epi Pen shots. Overall, the odds were good.

Sakura found a locker room in the far left side of the building. She searched through the lockers until she found a pink tank and some black leggings. It was a little harder to find socks, but she found some black ones. Looking down at her destroyed sneakers, Sakura knew she'd have to find some more. Luckily, there was also abandoned shampoo and shower gel. They were for men, but that was a trivial thing with the current situation.

Finding the showers, she turned it on and slipped out of her clothes, being careful not to get any of the body fluids on her. Throwing them in the trash, Sakura ducked under the warm embrace of the shower, letting the water pelt her sore muscles.

"We were so close!" she muttered angrily to herself. "What did we do wrong?!"

The "healthy" patients around month five started to get sick with the Ebola symptoms. At first, the scientists and medics weren't worried. That mindset changed when their patients started dying within 24 hours of showing symptoms. Ebola did not kill that fast, especially not with treatment. In fact, Ebola was a laughable virus, yet here it was worse than ever. The patients showed mental instability, and many were bleeding from their ears, mouth, and nose. The science team was baffled and worked tirelessly to try to fix their mistake. It was too late.

Every single one of the patients died half way through month five. It seemed that their vaccine had caused the Ebola virus to mutate once they were exposed to the real thing instead of doing what it was supposed to and make the body understand that it already had antibodies for Ebola.

What was scary was that after the first three patients died, their bodies were placed in black bags. As soon as they were zipped closed, the dead began moving again, tearing and trying to fight their way out. Kiani, one of the nurses ran to the bags and unzipped the first one. She shrieked as the dead body of the young man lunged out and attacked her, biting through her PPE and ripping through her protective helmet. The patient bit down on Kiani's neck; she screamed in agony, trying desperately to fight off her attacker as her face was ripped off and chewed.

It took four people to get the deceased man off her. They tried to restrain him for studying, but one of the doctors Tsunade bashed his head in with the blood pressure monitor. Kiani was bleeding badly, blood gushing from the neck wound the infected managed to inflict before it was hauled away. She died moments after that. They felt for a pulse…gone. Yet Kiani opened her eyes again. They were sky blue and unseeing.

"Are you okay Kiani?" one of the med techs ventured.

Kiani's head turned slowly to who had spoken to her, stringy black hair falling into her face. She reached out, grabbed his ankle, and bit him. That was how the super version of Ebola spread like wildfire. Sakura and the other survivors had no choice but get the hell out of there before they were all killed. Behind them, the facility was blown up as they escaped in hopes of killing the virus before it spread even further.

Sakura tiredly placed her head against the cool tile of the shower. She angrily punched it, her knuckles throbbing from the pain. "We shouldn't have left!"

They arrived back in Konoha, a mere four of them when there had been at least 75 to begin with. Saru, one of the scientists was seen rubbing his temples slowly. Sakura flat out asked him if he had a headache. He insisted it was just from all the stress. It turned out he'd been infected some time ago. It didn't surprise Sakura. Saru had to be reminded at least once every few weeks how to properly wear and dispose of PPE. He must have infected himself when he helped clear the bodies of the super Ebola patients.

That man left them at the gates and went on to infect hundreds of people by just coming in contact with a few. He gave it to his wife when he got home and kissed her. When he hugged his children, he also infected them the same way. His youngest daughter went later to play with her best friend across the street, infecting her as well. Little Hiriki went home to infect her foster parents, one of which was a public speaker. That night, her father spoke at a rally and shook many hands afterwards. Twenty-two to be exact.

Konoha was reduced to a city full of the Infected in less than three days. Once infected with Ebola, symptoms showed up within a day or two, much faster than the virus's original incubation period of ten to twenty-one days.

Sakura's tears mixed with the water that had run cold. Holding her head up, she realized this was now a test of survival. Sitting and crying wouldn't solve anything. She had to try and figure out a cure, but she didn't even know where to start. The virus wasn't just spreading from blood or fluids of the virus. It seemed to be contact. Super Ebola was spreading through contact with the skin from an infected person. That's why she made sure the undead or anyone else did not touch her.

Getting out of the shower to dry off with a towel she'd found and went back to the break room to eat. She couldn't stay in such a large place by herself. There was chance that other larger groups may come…and they may kill her just to take this place. It wasn't worth it. Sakura would have to go somewhere smaller like an abandoned house and board it up. Her legs were throbbing, but at least had stopped bleeding. She would have to get some bandages and antibiotic ointments on them. Right now, she was vulnerable to the virus because of her open wounds.

From exploring the warehouse, it was for car parts. She tiredly searched on the first and second floors for a first-aid kit, but didn't find one. She'd have to go out and get one. Luckily, she did find some bandages and medical tape to wrap them up in, but no ointment. Her makeshift medical care would have to do for now. Sakura went to the very back of the warehouse and found a back exit. There was no way she could return inside the way she came. Not with the infected raving at the front gates. That measly fence wouldn't hold them for long, but by now, hopefully because they were just wandering aimlessly out in the front.

With her weapon in tow, Sakura carefully and quietly traveled to a mall strip that had a Wal-Mart and clothing stores there as well as a Dick's. Hopefully she could find a quiet long distance weapon there as well. She killed endless during the trip. By the time she got to Wal-Mart, she was dripping in sweat. Water was on her list of things to get…if there was any left. The parking lot was absolutely trashed. The infected were dragging themselves around the front entrance. Sakura gulped. There was no doubt that there would be some inside as well. The doors were automatic. Maybe the workers got smart and turned off the automatic doors.

Taking her first few steps out, Sakura went downwind of the infected, and thankfully they didn't see her either. The dead were not like the slow zombies that only were trouble if you got cornered by a lot of them. These maintained whatever ability the person did before they died so if that person was fast when they were living, they were fast in death.

Around the side was a glass door. Sakura opened it and ran inside, making sure not to get close enough to the automatic doors to trigger them. Looking around, the business had been looted well already. Shelves were knocked over. Torn open bags of food littered the ground, and glass crunched soundly under her feet. She'd need to grab a pair of boots. Her sneakers were torn to hell.

Moving under the flickering lights and the heat of no A/C, the pinkette went to the shoe department to pick out some steel toe boots. She found some black ones and slipped them on. Next, she grabbed a duffle bag to put things she'd need in them. It would be much harder to fight off the infected like this, but Sakura would just take the same way she came.

She went to get the essentials like soap, shampoo, toothpaste and a toothbrush. Luckily, she didn't need feminine products because of her birth control. She had Nexplanon and it lasted for three years. She'd just had it put in three months ago and didn't have periods anymore. Sakura paused. On second thought, better safe than sorry.

Sakura crouched down immediately at the sound of footsteps close by. With her tire iron raised, she listened carefully, her heart beating a mile a minute. Her eyes widened. She heard voices. These were regular people just like she was. She went to stand up to greet them, but stopped. What if they tried to attack her and take the things she'd just gotten? There was a good chance of that. At the same time, it wasn't safe to be alone like this.

"This place has been torn to shreds huh?" came the voice of a male.

"It sure has," a soft-spoken female voice spoke.

"Come on, let's get what we need and get out of here."

That was another man's voice. Peeking around the corner, Sakura saw there were five total even though she only heard the voices of three. Sakura tried to sneak closer and accidentally stepped on a piece of glass. A flashlight was whirled in her direction.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know, but let's go check."

"Are you crazy?! What if it's one of those dead things?!"

"Then better we attack it first!"

Sakura stood up and came around the corner with her hands up. "Wait! I'm not infected!"

"It's a woman," said a man with bright blonde hair. "Have you had a fever or a bad headache?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, nothing. I also haven't been touched or bitten by one of the infected."

There was a man standing with them. She didn't have to ask if he was the leader. His dark eyes said it for him. Ebony shoulder length spikes shifted as he looked at her through could eyes. "Check her."

A woman with blonde hair walked immediately towards Sakura along with another woman with the most beautiful lilac-colored eyes she'd ever seen. Both women, in fact all of them, looked like they'd been through hell and back. The woman whose eyes were a strange lilac color smiled at her.

"Sorry about this."

The two women dragged Sakura back behind a shelf and proceeded to check her for bite marks. Sakura noticed that they touched her, pulling her shirt over her head, her breasts out of her bra, and her pants and underwear down to her ankles.

"Wait a minute!" Sakura exclaimed angrily. "You're doing this all wrong!"

"Just shut up," the blonde barked. "We'll be done in a minute." She backed up and yelled, "She's got wounds on her legs!"

Sakura frowned and the rudeness of this woman. "Clearly, you don't know how this virus spreads do you? Because if you did, you'd realize that if I was infected, you just infected yourself!" Sakura unwrapped her legs to show her wounds. "This was from climbing a chain-link fence than had barbed wire on top."

The woman with the dark purple hair stepped away as well. "Um, can you please show us the other wound too? I don't think you're lying or anything. I just…well we just want to make sure."

Sakura did what she was asked after re-wrapping her other leg. The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't know anything! This virus is spread from being bitten by one of those monsters out there!"

Sakura started pulling her clothes back into place. "Yes, but it's also spread just from touching an infected person!"

"Ino, what did she say?"

That apparently was Miss. Ignorant Blonde's name. "She's says that the virus is also spread from touching an infected person!"

Suddenly, that man she believed was the leader came around the corner towards her. He had a katana at his side and Sakura's eyes widened in fear when he held it to her neck. "How do you know this?"

Sakura gulped. She had no choice to tell them about her involvement. "Because I was on the medical team that went to try and create a vaccine. I watched as the virus started to spread."

"So you know what caused all this?" he questioned.

The other man, the blonde placed a hand on his friend's arm. "Sasuke, this whole plague isn't her fault! Don't do something stupid!"

"Shut up Naruto," came Sasuke's cold answer. He never looked away from Sakura. "Answer me."

Sakura closed her eyes. "Yes…"

"Then you must have a plan to stop this."

Sakura nodded. "I don't know where to start. I'd need a lab and someone who is scientifically and strategically smart."

"That'd be me if you want someone to strategize." The third man with him raised his hand lazily. Sakura gazed at the odd ponytail sticking straight out from the back of his head. "Name's Shikamaru. This whole thing has been a drag, and it's time to put a stop to it. What was your plan?"

Sakura turned her eyes to Shikamaru. "I wanted to try and create another antidote."

"Another?!" came Ino's shrill voice. She grasped Sakura by the front of the blue tank top she'd stolen at the warehouse. "You know where an antidote is?! You better start talking right now Billboard Brow!"

Sakura shoved the woman off her. "Don't touch me, you lunatic!" Sakura looked back at Shikamaru. "Yes, I want to try again. Instead of creating another vaccine afterwards, I want to stick with an antidote. The vaccine is what caused all of this. I can tell you everything I know. I just want to come with you."

"What do you bring to the table to keep this group safe?" Sasuke questioned.  
Sakura looked at him expressionlessly. "I've killed sixty seven of the infected just today."

"She's lying!" Ino shouted. "There's no way you can kill that many by yourself!"  
Sakura was getting fed up with this woman's antics. "You want to try me and see?!"

Ino began tying her hair up into a large bun over her head. "Actually yeah I do. Bring it, bitch!"

She lunged at Sakura and a brawl ensued. The anger, the fear, and the hatred of herself that this whole mess was partially her fault exploded into rage. Sakura overpowered the other woman and smashed her fist repeatedly into her face as tears streamed down her face.

"You don't know me!" Sakura screamed. _"You don't know me!"_

She was hauled off by Shikamaru and Naruto. Her chest was heaving angrily and the moment they let her go, Sakura was going to continue to beat that loud mouth brat into the concrete. How dare she?! Sakura had been through hell on her own, and she wasn't going to let some prissy little twat undermine her struggle.

"What's your name?" Sasuke questioned as he stepped in front of her.

"Sakura," she whispered, raw emotion on her face as she looked from him to Ino. "Sakura Haruno."

* * *

 **Day Fifty-Five: Stagnant**

* * *

Sakura stood in front of an Infected that was strapped to a metal table. It was a young teenage girl, half of her jaw missing and her ribs exposed from when she was feasted on by the dead. Gurgles and growls angrily escaped her as she tried desperately to get to the food source that was only a foot away. Sakura simply observed her. She had studied the blood of numerous people who had been killed and reanimated by the virus underneath a microscope. The virus, despite being out of the body, remained active for at least six hours. That meant that if you touched the body fluids of someone infected, even if it was hours later, you could contract Super Ebola.

She recreated the antibiotic they had made. The next part was tough on her. Naruto and Sasuke would bring her people who were infected. Most of them were still in their right minds at the time of experimentation. All of them were willing to help, hoping they would live through it.

They discovered that the mutation of the virus was a new strand that the antibiotic was completely incompatible with. It was like taking migraine medication for a stomach ache. Sakura honestly wasn't as scientifically inclined, but luckily, a young woman they took in by the name of Shiho was. She was an odd woman with glasses that you couldn't see her eyes through. She had the mad scientist look with her dirty blonde hair sticking in different directions. Shiho was smart and was already helping to work on a new antibiotic.

They'd run into many people who wanted to come into the large CDC sanctuary they had. First, they had to have their blood drawn after being checked for any bites or open wounds in order to see if they were carrying the virus. Majority of them were, and under Sasuke's order, they became guinea pigs for the cure. The ones who weren't were welcomed and pulled their weight. The stronger ones helped build a ten foot wall around their fortress and killed off the Infected that were getting too close. They had quite the little gathering of people.

Sakura rubbed her temples then drew another vial of blood from her test subject. The next step was to dispose of it. There wasn't any more use for it. The fact that she'd grown so nonchalant to killing and saw them as things and not former people scared her. She needed a break.

"Shiho," she called to the scientist busy at work. "I'll be back later."

She stood. "Oh, okay Miss Haruno! I'll be here seeing if this new version of the antibiotic can kill the virus!"

Sakura smiled. "Please, just call me Sakura."

"Oh right!"

Placing her notes down on the counter, Sakura exited the research lab. She stopped in the decontamination room on the way out, feeling the whoosh of decontaminate against her PPE. She took off her PPE carefully and threw it in the garbage inside the decontamination room. It would be burned later. Bounding down the stairs, Sakura headed outside, her eyes adjusting to the brightness of the sun. It was hot. Way too hot with the stagnant air, the stench of the dead wafted lovingly to her nostrils. The smell used to make her gag, but now, it was a part of everyday life.

"Sakura!"

Said woman turned around to see Hinata bounding up to her. She smiled at the other woman. They'd grown quite close fairly quickly and Sakura was grateful for it. She and Ino still didn't get along after their brawl in the middle of Wal-Mart. She tried apologizing, but Ino wasn't having it. That was fine. They were in the middle of an apocalypse, and she had way more important things to do than to rival with that bimbo.

"What's going on Hinata?" Sakura asked as they walked side by side.

"Sasuke wants to have a bonfire tonight," she spoke. "Chouji's planning on cooking."

Sakura's mouth watered at the thought of Chouji's cooking. He had been with them for about a month now and was in charge of savaging for food. He and Shikamaru strangely seemed to gravitate towards one another. You rarely saw one without the other. A bonfire sounded nice. She'd been cooped up in the lab for days working on the antibiotics.

"Sounds like fun."

And fun it was. Naruto and Sasuke brought back beers from an abandoned gas station a few miles down the road when they went to get more ammo and weapons. Never had a warm Budlight tasted so good. Sakura sat on a worn tire, watching the festivities. Sakura sipped her beer, feeling like this was just a party and not a rouse to help them cope with their morbid situation. Someone even managed to scavenge a radio and some CDs. Sakura's head bobbed gently to the sound of reggae music. Bob Marley was it? She'd never actually listened to his music before, but it felt like it was soothing her soul. She just wanted to get up and dance. Not that she could dance.

Looking over to her right, she saw Sasuke approaching. He sat down next to her, eyes at first watching the scene play out in front of him. He looked over at her and saw that Sakura's eyes were on his katana. He smirked.

"Does it interest you?"

Sakura nodded. "I've never seen anyone fight with a katana before. It's a cool idea, but only if you know how to use it. I don't."

"You could learn," Sasuke answered. "You are proficient in close combat, although your style is more primitive."

Sakura sipped her beer. "There's nothing classy about killing the Infected."

They sat in silence for a moment. Sakura studied his profile. He truly was handsome. Dark hair down to his shoulders in thick spikes, eyes that matched that inky blackness. His skin was lightly tanned from all the hours spent in the sun, and his muscles shifted easily underneath his skin. Suddenly, she was grateful that it was hot and for the grey tank top he was wearing.

"Hey Sasuke," Sakura began. She crossed her legs and sat in the center of the tire against the ground. "Can I ask what happened to you? How was your experience when the world went to hell?"

Sasuke took a swig of his own beer. "It was hell."

That was explanation enough. Sakura frowned with she saw Bimbo coming up. That had been her nickname for some time now. Her long blonde hair was braided prettily and hung over her right shoulder. She leaned in, placing an elbow on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Wanna dance?" she questioned in a sultry voice.

"I'm talking right now Ino," Sasuke responded. "You've been drinking too much. You reek of alcohol."

Ino sucked her teeth. "I've only had two! I'm not drunk!"

Sasuke got to his feet. "Follow me Sakura."

The pinkette wasn't sure what he wanted, but she shot Ino a smug look before getting up and trailing after her leader. It was childish, but she didn't care at that moment. All her thoughts were on where she and Sasuke were going. They entered the CDC and walked down the familiar hallways. It was still brightly lit; a bill they would never pay keeping it running. Their footsteps echoed against the walls of the tunnel. They were silent on their walk, simply walking in step next to each other.

They reached a metal door. It loomed powerfully before them. Sakura realized this was where Sasuke slept. He placed his finger on the scanner. It beeped, welcoming him and sliding the doors open. Sakura's heart was beating a mile a minute. Why would he bring her to a quiet place like this? Was he going to try to sleep with her? He was out of his mind if that was his plan.

"What is it?" Sakura ventured while going to sit at a table off to the right of the door.

Sasuke joined her and pulled the chair up. He placed his elbows on the table and linked his fingers together. His gaze was intense, smoldering. Sakura didn't think he did it on purpose, but that look was making her turn into a pile of mush.

"I want you to be my right hand," he spoke. "You will assist in decision making while still working on the antibiotic. Once you've completed that, we'll work together to cure those who have not turned yet, but are infected."

She noticed hardness in his voice, and that was when she realized something: the times Sakura had seen Sasuke kill one of the zombies, there was no remorse in the swing of his blade. He seemed…angry. She was positive that something had happened to those close to him.

"What about Ino or Hinata?" Sakura questioned. "They've been with you longer than I have. Or what about Naruto and Shikamaru?"

"Ino loses focus because of her infatuation with me," Sasuke began. "Hinata can't focus because of her infatuation with Naruto. Naruto I consider one of my officers, both him and Shikamaru. I need you on my team because of your strength and your medical knowledge. They have come in handy so far."

Sakura was confused. "I don't see what the title would do."

Sasuke leaned forward. "I have a feeling that there are those here who almost put us in danger."

Sakura crossed her arms underneath her breasts. "What does that mean?! Why would anyone be against us when they have food, water, and some semblance of a normal life in this fucked-up world?!"

Sasuke shook his head. That simple movement made Sakura bite her lip. "I think someone is infected, and I want you to tell me who it is."

Sakura jumped up from her chair so hard it topped over behind her, landing with a loud clang on the floor. "We need to search everyone now! How are you so calm about this?!"

Sasuke stood as well. "That's a wonderful act Sakura. When are you going to come clean?"

Sakura paused and swallowed thickly. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Sasuke moved around the table and pushed Sakura forcefully against the wall. The breath whooshed out of her and her eyes widened at just how close he was. Her heart pounded in her chest as his hand brushed against her right inner thigh, ghosting its way up. Sakura pushed him away forcefully.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she raged. "You tell me you want me to be your right hand then pull this?! I'm not sleeping with you Sasuke! You can keep your title!"

Sasuke advanced. "I'm not trying to sleep with you Sakura. I know that you're hiding something, and I know _what_ you're hiding. I expect you to come clean right now. It's the only thing that's stopping your progression in rank and my full trust in you."

"We're not in the military or ninjas," Sakura scoffed. "That rank doesn't mean anything."

Sasuke placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You didn't deny that you're hiding something."

Sakura instinctively reached down to where his hand almost touched. He knew. The look in his eyes said he knew. There was no getting around it. Tears pooling in her eyes, Sakura lifted up the right side of her shorts, showing a bandage that was strapped to it. She had been attacked while going into town two days ago. It was an infected elderly woman. Sakura made the stupid mistake of thinking that because she was at least in her early nineties, she wouldn't be able to move as fast.

She and Shiho went into town with Chouji, Naruto, and Shikamaru to gather more medical supplies for their studies. They were in the pharmacy of an abandoned hospital while Shikamaru needles, syringes, IVs, and all the preps needed from the lab of a hospital. The elderly infected she ran into was still bed ridden. Sakura stopped and stared at her for a moment as she was walking by, feeling sorry that she had gotten attacked while she'd been unable to move. Sakura moved in closer to put her out of her misery. She leaned over her and held the nail gun to her forehead. Sakura was taken by complete surprise when the old woman leaned over abruptly and bit down on her thigh. She snatched herself away from her and shot her right between the eyes.

When Sakura finally built the courage to look, tears started streaming down her face. "How could I be so careless?!" she whispered to herself.

She rummaged through the drawers of a medical dresser off to the left of the room by the bathroom and wrapped the bite up carefully. Death would be knocking at her doorstep within 24 hours, only death never came. No symptoms came either for that matter. Sakura was completely shocked. Was she immune or would it just take longer for some reason for her to be infected?

"I…" Sakura began with her breath hitching. "I know I shouldn't have come back and put you all at risk! But-"

"That was very selfish of you Sakura," Sasuke pointed out coldly. "You could have ended up killing our entire group."

She hung her head. "I know Sasuke. I just…I was afraid to die. I knew if I told the others, they'd have to kill me and…I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"You're a coward and you should be dead by now," Sasuke deadpanned. "Why aren't you?"

Sakura wrapped her arms around her body. "I think maybe I'm immune. I've tested my blood and the virus is not visible under the microscope."

Sasuke walked a short distance from her to a mini fridge. He pulled out two Mike's Hard Strawberry Lemonades and handed her one. Sakura looked curiously at it then to Sasuke. "I never would have taken you for a fruity drink person."

"Never judge by appearance Sakura," Sasuke began as he sat back down at the table. "Just as I am not doing with you now. I should cut you down where you stand."

Sakura nodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Sasuke continued. "I want you and Shiho to figure out why you are immune. Perhaps you are the key to ending this."

Sakura went over and hugged Sasuke. "I won't let you down."

He held still as she embraced him before brushing her pink locks away from her face. "You can't fail me Sakura, because if you do, I have no choice but to eliminate you."

* * *

 **Day Seventy Four: A Loss and a Gain**

* * *

She wasn't dead yet. It had been over two weeks, and Sakura wasn't dead. She still was symptomless and her bite had healed over nicely. Shiho had been the only one to know what happened. The odd woman didn't seem surprised at all that Sakura had been bitten.

"There have been times when you should have been infected," Shiho had informed her. "Like that time that man missing an eye managed to rip through your suit in his delirium and went into a coughing fit."

That was true. Sakura missed all the signs. Honestly, she should have been dead before she even met Sasuke and his crew. Her way of killing the Infected had a high probability of given her the virus. She had been too terrified to realize it until it was too late. Yet nothing happened to her. They'd gotten to work right away and found that Sakura had type O Negative blood, the universal donor blood. They'd introduced some of her blood to the Super Ebola virus and underneath the microscope; her white blood cells were able to destroy the virus. It was a huge step for humanity.

The next thing was to create artificial blood that mimicked Sakura's and try it on people who were recently infected, but hadn't turned into a zombie yet. They were having a tough time finding someone. Sakura was in Sasuke's room again. She found herself there a lot, giving him information what was going on in the lab or just talking about different things. He'd revealed to her that his older brother had been infected first and killed off all of their family before dying himself. Even while in his zombie, blood-thirsty form, he didn't try to attack Sasuke.

Sakura was lying on the bed with Sasuke's head in her lap, stroking his soft raven hair. "I think his consciousness came back for a brief moment and forced himself not to attack you."

"That's nonsense," Sasuke murmured.

"What other explanation could there be Sasuke?" Sakura questioned. "Those mindless things only care about eating flesh. You told me he looked right at you, reached for you, and then ran off. That should tell you there was a still a piece of him that didn't want anything to happen to you."

Sasuke rolled over, facing her stomach and wrapping an arm around her back and remained silent. Sakura found herself growing attached to this man. He was powerful, extremely attractive, and a great leader. He had his faults like being cold to those who worked for him, but Sakura believed he still valued their contribution to their group. Green eyes gazed down at the smooth skin of his cheek, and she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch it. His skin was just a soft as it looked, not a blemish marring its perfection. Sasuke's dark gaze looked up at her, and he sat up.

"Sasuke," she said softly, slowly reaching to wrap a hand around the back of his neck.

She wanted to kiss him so bad. No, she wanted more than that. Sakura wanted to give herself completely to this man. Her feelings were growing stronger by the day and each moment they spent together. Sasuke grasped the back of her head and pulled her to him. Their lips touched softly the first time. They pulled away, as if experimenting. Then their mouths crashed together fiercely, each wanting to devour the other. Sasuke pulled Sakura into his lap, making her straddle his waist. His hand wandered over her thighs, moving to her toned ass. He squeezed the perfect globes firmly, pulling her against him.

They broke their kiss for Sasuke to pull his shirt up over his chest. Sakura had seen him shirtless before, but now she got to run her fingers over his muscled chest, feeling the different textures from scars lining his abdomen. Sakura gingerly leaned down to kiss his shoulder. She heard his intake of breath and grew bolder, running her tongue along his neck. His warm hand ran up her sides and underneath her T-shirt. Sasuke clearly wanted it off.

Once the barrier was out of the way, his hands cup her small, but full breasts. A gentle moan escaped her lips as he expertly kneaded the soft mounds. Sasuke pushed her forward she felt herself falling until the bed gently caught her. He was over her, hot mouth exploring from her sternum to her right breast. The days of wearing bras were long gone. It wasn't like truly needed one anyway. Today, she was grateful that she hardly wore them.

Sasuke ground his hips into her core, eliciting a delicious moan from his partner. This woman, there was something about her that he didn't quite understand. All he knew was he had to have her. Her pink hair fanned out around her head as those deep green pools hazily gazed at him through lids that were half open. Open mouth kisses were dropped down her abdomen and just as he was about to unbutton her shorts when there was a loud crash and screaming heard. The two of them sat up abruptly as the sounds of gunfire echoed around them.

Sakura threw on her shirt, and they both raced outside. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. Their main wall looked like it had been blown up and the infected were pouring in, taking out everyone in their paths.

"Who could have done this?!" Sakura cried.

"Obito," Sasuke said coldly. "He's been after this place from day one."

That was true. They'd even gotten into an all-out brawl with his minions one time over a drum of water that mysteriously had gone unnoticed at a rundown gas station. Sakura still remembered slamming her fists into that ditzy red head's face, breaking her glasses in the process. She smacked one fist into her hand, ready to take on anything. She picked up a metal bat that was lying against one of the trees. Sasuke was by her side and together, they began slaying the infected. The more they killed, the more there seemed to be. Sakura screamed as Hinata was bitten on her side. Naruto ran forward and shot the creature in the forehead. It slumped to the ground and gave him only half a second to catch Hinata.

"Get her inside!" Sakura yelled.

"She'll infect everyone," Sasuke called. "She needs to stay out here."

"No!' Sakura shouted harshly. "I _can_ help her. I won't let her die!"

More gunshots were heard, and that was when Sakura realized that one of Obito's man thugs, Kisame was shooting at them from atop the broken barrier. His crazed smile was terrifying, especially with his sharpened teeth. Ino was hidden behind a tree and pointed her own gun at him.

"You're dead!" she shrieked before pulling the trigger.

Half his face seemed to dissolve as his lifeless body dropped down to the awaiting mouths below. They weren't interested for long. Once the body starting going cold, it was no good to them. Sakura killed three more of the infected and looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Sasuke chopping them down left and right. Instead, he was holding his shoulder. Blood poured through his white shirt the brightest shade of red. He must have gotten shot by Kisame. There were four Infected surrounding him. The first one, a young teen lunged at him, and he cut it down. The next two were on him. Sakura ran to him, knowing he might not be able to overpower what looked like a former body builder grasping at his arm.

Sakura screeched in terror when she saw the zombie bite down on his neck. It gleefully ripped a piece of his flesh off. She ran towards him as fast as she could. _He's infected! He's infected, what do I do?! We haven't finished the antibiotic!_

_  
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. His head felt like it was pounding. He tried to sit up in the small bed he was in, but the lightning that went through his temples convinced him otherwise. He let out a deep breath. Migraines was one of the first and most common signs of Super Ebola. The leader glanced at his left shoulder and saw the bandage on it. He scoffed. Of course Sakura brought him back inside.

"Sakura," he called. He cleared his throat. His voice sounded raspy and hoarse. Sasuke desperately needed water.

She came immediately. A curious expression crossed his features as she teared up and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. He hissed when she accidentally hit his wound. She sat back and wiped her face.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so happy."

A deep throb went through his shoulder. "What is there to be happy about?"  
"She did it."

His eyes turned over to his right and there stood Shikamaru. His hands were in his pockets as usual. The grin on his face didn't seem to fit his features at all. Sasuke looked between them. "She did what?"

"She found the cure!" Shiho squealed while adjusting her glasses. "You were losing so much blood. The virus had been transmitted to you from that bite. She gave you two and a half bags of her own blood. We checked your blood this morning, and the virus is gone!"

"It's the same for Hinata!" Naruto cheered while throwing an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "She gave her blood as well!"

Sasuke studied Sakura more and saw that she looked very tired. Her skin was much paler than usual. She smiled weakly. "It's nothing. I had to save them."

Shiho grabbed Sakura's arm as she started to sway. "You need to sit down! It's been two days, but that was still a lot of blood you gave!"

Two days? Sasuke thought. He'd been out of it longer than the time frame it took for the virus to kill its host. She really did it, but here was no way she could give her blood to all the people who had been infected.

"How will you help others?" Sasuke questioned.

Sakura sat down, her breath coming in short gasps. "We'll start doing radio broadcasting, telling everyone within radius of it to come here if they have been bitten. Shiho has managed to create artificial blood with the same genetic make-up as mine. Then we'll have to start killing off the already dead ones."

Sasuke simply stared at this woman. She managed to save the human race. It was true that nothing could be done for those who had already turned; there was no avoiding that, but there was still hope in cleaning up this world. He watched her cheeks turn a rosy shade of pink and sat up slowly to avoid that sharp pain in his head again. Swinging his legs over the bed and ignoring the protests from his group, he stood on shaky feet and went to the woman who saved his life. Once he was in front of her, he lifted her chin with his finger.  
"You are incredible Sakura Haruno," he said quietly.

She smiled. "I'm glad you think so. So you won't have to eliminate me?"

He brushed his fingers through her hair. "Not today."

Sasuke leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Naruto hooped loudly at the scene in front of him. "Finally settling down huh you bastard?!"

"We'll see dumb ass."

It took almost five years, but the world population finally had irradiated all the zombies and the virus. The smell of death hung sickly in the air as the burned the bodies, too many bodies to count. It took weeks to burn all of them, but the world was finally getting back on its feet. Sakura washed the plate in her hand and placed it on the drying rack while partially listening to the drone of the news anchorman on TV. She was starting to realize that she liked it better without it on.

Sasuke entered the kitchen, wrapped his arms around her waist, and dropped a kiss on her neck. Sakura sighed and leaned her head back against his shoulder. Who would have thought that such a horrible, tragic, and terrifying thing would happen for her to meet the man who stole her heart? At least some good for her had come of it.

"Naruto and I are going to the bar," Sasuke said as he exited. "I'll be back later."

The bar. Such a simple thing that didn't mean have meaning just two years ago. To hear a phrase like that, one of simplicity and the life that once was brought a smile to her face. They made it. They could only go forward from here. Looking out of the window over the sink, the hue of evening filtered in. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she blinked then realized her nose was running. Leaning further into the window, she could see her reflection had blood seeping from the corner of her eyes and her nose.

* * *

 **DO YOU GET WHAT I DID AT THE END?! OMG! I know this was super long and I hope you did enjoy it! I had to do a lot of research for it and learned a lot so it was fun in the process! Let me know what you think!**


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